


Cage or Mausoleum?

by VarietyALU



Series: The Umbrella Academy [1]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Good Brother Diego Hargreeves, Good Brother Klaus Hargreeves, Hurt/Comfort, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Protective Klaus Hargreeves, Sibling Bonding, Vanya Hargreeves Needs A Hug, luther is a dick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-11-13 03:17:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18023753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VarietyALU/pseuds/VarietyALU
Summary: Luther locks Vanya up and nobody agrees with it, but what are they going to do against him? They resign themselves to minding their own business and waiting for Luther to figure out he was wrong on his own, but for Klaus, it strikes a little too close to home.





	Cage or Mausoleum?

"She's dangerous. We can't trust her," Luther's voice boomed around the room, twice as loud as everyone else. 

"She's our sister," Diego countered, always the one to stand up to Luther first. He was never afraid of Number One's strength and Klaus admired that about him. 

"She killed Allison." 

Allison huffed and wrote something on her notepad.

"Open the fucking door Luther," Diego locked eyes with Luther, trying to exude dominance over him, but Luther had been playing this game for as long as he could remember so he was a pro. 

Allison tapped Luther on the shoulder and he turned his head, not straying from blocking the door so the siblings couldn't see Vanya thrashing against the one-way glass. She showed her pad reading, 'SHE DIDN'T MEAN TO'.

Luther discredited her immediately, "It doesn't change the fact she's dangerous."

“Come on, this is Vanya we’re talking about,” Klaus said, “Sweet little Vanya who wouldn’t hurt a fly. I’m sure if we just talk to her she’ll explain everything.”  
Luther gave him the familiar look of disappointment, this time mixed with a little bit of anger. 

Diego moved to try and open the door, but Luther blocked him with his giant arm. Diego reached for his knives and Luther steeled for another fight. He was adamant Vanya would stay locked up. Klaus took an involuntary step back, remembering the time his brother had choked him and threw him to the other side of the room. He didn't know what to do. His eyes were glued to Vanya. Tears streamed down her face, her fists pummelled against the door so hard Klaus was sure they would bruise, and somehow Luther didn't care about any of that. 

Allison flicked her pad up to Diego, 'FIGHTING WON'T SOLVE ANYTHING'. 

He looked her in the eyes for a few seconds before turning away, his footsteps heavy with repressed anger. Klaus took a breath. He was usually fine with his siblings fighting, especially when it was Diego and Luther since they were both as bull-headed as each other, but this time felt different. It wasn't like the first time (Ben didn't like that statue anyway) because Vanya was in real distress this time. This wasn't a battle of morals or ideas; this was their sibling's life.  
Luther practically herded everyone out of the room. His hand pressed against Diego's back, much to the other's annoyance and Diego was quick to shrug him off once he got past the door frame. Allison wouldn’t even let him touch her. 

“Klaus, come on.”

Klaus was rooted to the spot. Everything around him was white noise. Vanya’s screams echoed through his head perfectly because they sounded a lot like his own. 

“Klaus!” 

His neck cracked as he heard Luther’s voice. It took him a second to realise Luther wanted him to leave too. His legs moved without his head, he couldn’t look away from Vanya. What if she hurt herself? What if she couldn’t breathe? He knew he couldn’t breathe when dad locked him up. But he couldn’t disobey Luther when he was in that kind of mood, he would probably just pick Klaus up and forcefully move him if he didn’t go. 

He hated the helplessness. 

Luther closed the door behind him and slid the lock across. The siblings went their different ways, none of them wanting to spend time around Luther at that moment. Even Allison shrugged off his attempts to make conversation. 

Klaus went to his room. It was the only place he felt safe-ish in the entire house. It was soundproofed and dad would dump him in there after one of their sessions so he could finally let out all the tears he had to hold so he’d finally be let out. He fell on his bed, feeling the small bumps under his mattress where he’d hidden drugs as a kid. 

Klaus flipped over and saw Ben standing at the foot of his bed. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see the disappointed stare he knew would look back at him. Silence hung over the room like a saggy umbrella. 

He couldn’t get the look of desperation on Vanya’s face out of his head. It haunted him like the ghosts he was so used to. 

“Klaus,” Ben started, then paused. “Klaus, this isn’t right.”

He didn’t reply. 

He knew it wasn’t right, he knew he should go down there and demand Luther let Vanya out, god knows his siblings would back him up on that. But the look on Luther’s face as he stood in front of that door reminded him so much of dad, he couldn’t bear to look at it any longer. Every word that came out of Number One’s mouth sounded like dad all over again. 

There was nothing he could do, he decided. He probably couldn’t lift that door anyway, so there was no use trying. Maybe Diego would have the same thought as him and be brave enough to act on it. He could only hope. 

He tried to focus on his new ability, trying to touch ghosts, but as he could think about was the look on Luther’s face. Would he lock Klaus up too if he had new abilities? He doubted it, but the thought was still there. 

“Klaus,” Ben said again.

“I know,” He sat up, “I know, I know, I know.”

Ben was silent for a few seconds, “So why are you still here?”

Klaus deflated. He was sick of this. Didn’t his brother know what a coward he was? He hung around enough. He wanted to tell Ben to leave him alone, but he was afraid he really would. 

It was at times like those he was grateful for drugs. All the shit dad had put them through, all the dumb training and drills, the missions, could be erased by a simple weed filled cigarette. He supposed Vanya felt the same. 

“Klaus,” Ben said quietly. 

His voice was a whisper amongst Klaus’s thoughts. Just another one telling him to go check on Vanya, go save Vanya, tell her it’ll be okay, and on and on and on. He didn’t know if he preferred this or the ghosts.

Any attempt to block out the thoughts was pointless, and he knew pointless. Vanya’s screams mixed with what he remembered of his own as a child to create a throbbing pain in his head that wouldn’t go away. He could go get some pain medication for it, he was sure mom would happily get some and make him some honey tea, but he didn’t think it would help. He didn’t think he really deserved it either. 

The memory of his tiny fists banging against the concrete mausoleum walls meshed with Vanya’s and he couldn’t stop the feeling of guilt sinking through his stomach. It was nauseating. 

He remembered how he screamed for Luther, for Diego, for mom and Pogo, for anyone who could let him out. No-one ever came. Ever. He remembered the overwhelming feeling of disappointment when he realised none of them had even bothered to look for him. 

He wouldn’t let Vanya go through that same feeling.

He swung his feet over the edge of the bed and he brushed his crinkled shirt down. He looked at Ben’s face and bathed in the warm glow of his proud smile.  
He left his room quietly, sneaking down the stairs, careful not to make too much noise and alert Luther, although he reckoned his brother was too busy pining over Allison. The door to the kitchen was open and he saw Diego brooding over a cup of tea mom had made, but there was no Luther in sight. 

He flew down the corridors and stairs. He was so far away from the main area that no-one would hear him now. As he opened each door, he locked them behind him so Luther wouldn’t notice anything amiss if he checked. He opened the last door and froze as he saw Vanya slumped against the door. He couldn’t believe he’d waited so long deciding to rescue her. 

The door was five inches of metal; it would take Luther to pull it open. Klaus tugged and tugged on the handle but it refused to budge. He knew it.  
He turned to Ben, “Come on, help! You did it before.”

Ben tried to grab the handle but his hand fell through every time. Sweat began to collect on Klaus’s forehead and he wished he’d focussed on his physical strength like Diego had instead of succumbing to malnutrition. It was like a child trying to lift weights. 

Tears leaked down Vanya’s face and hit the ground and her eyes were red and sore. Klaus pulled as hard as he could. He willed his powers to work and manifest Ben. He pulled so hard he couldn’t feel his fingers, all he felt was the strain on the muscles in his arms and the power flowing through his veins. Suddenly, a small crack appeared between the door and the wall. 

He opened his eyes and saw another pair of hands on the handle. He looked up to see Diego hovering over him, biceps clenched.

“Don’t stop now,” Diego commanded, and Klaus pulled with everything he had to get the door open. 

Vanya shied away at first before seeing who it was and leaping into Klaus’s arms. He grabbed her and pulled her out as if someone would shove her back in if eh let go for even a second. She whispered apologies, barely legible behind the tears, but Klaus didn’t care. He just wanted her to be okay again. 

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” She whimpered, “I didn’t mean it.”

“I know,” He pulled her close and rested his chin on her head, cradling her the way he wished someone had him when he was small, “I know.”

She moved her head to look him in the eyes, her entire body shaking in his grip, “Please, I don’t want to go back.”

“I’m never letting anyone put you back there ever again,” He promised. 

Diego grabbed them both by the arm and pulled them to the door, “Come on, we don’t have long.”

Vanya didn’t hear him, but Klaus did and tried his best to hush her whilst he followed Diego back through the corridors. Diego stalked in front, checking each corridor for Luther the same way the police trained him to check for gunmen. 

Klaus rushed her out the front door and straight to Diego’s car, pushing Vanya into the backseat first before climbing in himself. Diego yanked the driver’s door open, turned the key, and drove out of the parking lot like a madman. 

Once they were on the road, Klaus could focus on Vanya. She shook like a leaf as she tried to wipe the tears out of her eyes with her hands, but they were soaked already. Klaus dabbed her cheeks with the hem of his shirt. She looked at him with disbelief, as if she couldn’t believe someone actually cared about her enough to go let her out, and that thought was enough make Klaus grip onto her shoulders as if he was never going to let her go. 

Diego checked behind him every few seconds to make sure no-one followed them. He planned to take them out of state, even if Luther couldn’t find them at Vanya’s or Diego’s place, it seemed Leonard or Harold or whatever his name was would be able to track them anywhere. 

Klaus felt bad for leaving Allison behind, but it was a necessary thing in order for them to escape. Besides, Luther wouldn’t throw Allison across the room if he found out someone let Vanya out and hopefully she’d be able to calm him down before he went on a rampage. He was so grateful for Diego, and probably would be for the rest of his life. From that alone, he knew Diego would’ve rescued him as well if he’d known.

They drove for a couple of hours, Ben riding in the front passenger seat, until Diego pulled into a random fast food joint and parked in the parking spot closest to the entrance.

“Uh, Diego? Where are we?” Klaus asked, surveying the surrounding area. 

Diego looked down, a slight pink tinge dusting his cheeks, “Uh, I thought it would be nice to stop for a bit.”

Klaus raised his eyebrows but didn’t protest, any free food was cool with him. They got out of the car and walked into the building, the soft sound of chattering filling the air. Vanya hid her face in Klaus’s jacket partly because she was self-conscious about the redness around her eyes and partly because she was paranoid someone might be there who wanted her dead. Who knew how many Hazels and Cha-Chas there were out there. 

Klaus seated them at a table and a waitress came over smiling and asked what they wanted to order.

“Waffles please,” Klaus answered, then turned to Diego, “I take it you’re paying.”

Diego grunted, but didn’t object. 

“V?” 

She shrugged, trying to make herself as small as possible, “Waffles are good.”

“Waffles for me, waffles for you, and waffles for Diego too,” He said in a sing-song tone. 

The waitress smiled and went to get their order.

They didn’t talk, but it wasn’t awkward. Klaus remembered the last time they hung out together without dad breathing down their necks. It was a doughnut shop in town, he could name the exact street, when they were only just teenagers. They didn’t hang out much after five left, it just didn’t feel right without him. 

They ate their waffles in peace, Klaus making jokes here and there and getting syrup all over his face then splattering it on Diego when he made fun. Even Vanya managed to crack a smile. 

By the time they got in the car to leave, there was an air of hope surrounding the group. It almost felt as if everything would be okay.


End file.
